Article for use in arc welding



Oct. 25, T JERABEK 1,884,712

ARTICLE FOR USE IN ARC WELDING Filed June 14. 1928 INVENTOR,

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Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THEOPHIL E. JERABEK, F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO ARTICLE FOR USE IN ARC WELDING Application filed June 14,

The present invention, relating, as indicated, to a method of electric welding, has more especial reference to metal working and welding processes wherein an arc is drawn between the part or parts to be welded or worked and a carbon electrode which is moved relatively to such parts in order to shift the are along a line or over a surface in the desired manner.

Due to a number of factors of a variable and somewhat uncertain character, the added metal or welded parts of the metal of the work often present a rough or waved appearance and may contain oxides and other inclusions which detrimentally affect the stress-resisting capabilities of the weld. These objectionable features of the welds heretofore produced are due, in some measure, to more or less erratic behavior of the are caused by its tendency to stick and shift irregularly, to varying magnetic and electrical influences and to the oxidizing environment or atmosphere in which the welding operation is conducted. This invention, with the object of producing smoother and neater welds having greatly improved physical and chemical characteristics, contemplates effecting the weld in a neutral or reducin atmosphere and in the presence of materials and thermal products of such materials that assist in clearing u the weld, stabilizing the are, preventing oxidation and the occlusion of injurious gases, and deterrin undesired crystalline structure.

ore particularly, this invention rovides a welding process which involves urning an or anic substance, i. e. a carbon-containing su stance, in the vicinity of the weldbeing produced,'this substance containing, or being impregnated with, one or more other materials of a usually inorganic character and producing, when consumed or thermally activated, a neutral or reducing atmosphere in blanketing relation to the weld, this atmosphere, it is believed, excluding detrimental ases such as nitrogen and oxygen, eliminating or minimizing arc fluctuations and contributing to the production of smoother and more uniform welds whose ductility and malleability surpass those of 1928. Serial No. 285,425.

the metal in the body of the work and whose I content of oxides and other foreign inclusions is much smaller than that of the welds produced by the arc welding process as now practiced.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing In the drawing, and with particular referenoe to Fig- 1, the process constituting the present invention is shown as applied to a seam welding operation in which the abutting or contiguously positioned edges of two plates. 1 are being interfused by an arm 2 drawn between a carbon or non-metallic cathode 3 and the work. It will be understood that the electrode 1 and the work are relatively moved in order to advance the arc progressively along the seam and that a predetermined spacing is' maintained between the work and the electrode so that successive parts 4 of the weld shall be uniform and the are at its length of greatest efficiency.

As the welding progresses, a rope or strip 5 is fed either automatically or manually through the bore 6 of a bracket or tube 7. This strip, being of a preferably organic or carbonaceous material, may conveniently be made by twisting paper or other fibrous stock into a string or rope such as that illustrated, and in the intense heat of the arc burns to form gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide which envelop or blanket the arc and the fused metal of the work to thereby exclude atmospheric gases and prevent oxidation and absorption of nitrogen. This burning strip also has a favorable action in preventing the molten metal from solidifying in wavelets or ridges and in minimizing are fluctuations, but these objects may be attained in still greater degree by using a materi'al containing! one or more other substances which havebeen found to have a very beneficial effect.

It has been discovered that materials such, as compounds of the alkali metals lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium and radium, when incorporated in the strip 5, have a most beneficial action in cleaning up the weld, stabilizing the arc and improving the appearance of the congealed metal. These materials, in the form of salts, such as silicates or carbonates for example, may be incorporated in the strip 5 in any suitable manner which will produce uniform impregnation as, for instance, by adding a solution to the beater in which the paper stock is prepared or the liquid through which the paper is drawn before being twisted, the procedure adopted being immaterial if the distribution of the material and its quantity are satisfactorily controlled. The exact action of the burning strip and the function of the impregnating chemicals is not, at present, completely understood, but the results obtained are apparently, at least in part, attributable, not only to the neutral or reducing atmosphere created, but also to a relatively higher anodic drop and a' correspondingly lower cathodic drop in the path traversed by the arc.

In Fig. 2 another way of carrying out this improved process is illustrated. In this view one explained, chan e being made as re gards the means an the ste s herein disclosed, provided those stated y any of the following claims 'or their equivalent be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention i 1. As an article of manufacture for use in arc welding, a cord of combustible material carrying fiuxing and alloying ingredients and capable of being fed into the arc area independently of the electrode and the work.

1 2. As an article of manufacture for use in arc welding, a cord of combustible material carrying fiuxing material and capable of be ing fed into the arc area independently of the electrode and the work. Q

3. As an article of manufacture for use in arc weldin a cord of combustible material carrying al oying material and capable of being fed into the arc area independently of the electrode and the work.

4. As an article of manufacture for use in arc welding, a cord of combustiblematerial carrying arc stabilizing material and capable of being fed into the are area independently of the electrode and the work.

5. As anarticle of manufacture for use in arc welding, a cord of combustible material,

the two sheets 10 have theiradjacent edges beveled and a rod 11 is placed in the resulting groove, this rod, during the welding operation, being melted and fused with the metal of'the sheets. Interposed between the rod 11 and the groove in which it rests is a strip of paper or the like 12, this strip being impregnated similarly to the rope previously described and having substantially the same effect in preventing oxidation, stabilizing the arc and improving the appearance of the weld produced. The rod 11 may be melted down by an arc in the manner shown in Fig. 1 and, of course, the strip 12 is burned in about the same way as the strip 5.

If desired, electromagnetic or other means may be used for assisting in controlling the arc, this means conveniently taking the form of a solenoid coil surrounding. or in close proximity to, the arc,- and'so connected either in series or otherwise that compensating in- Other modes of applying the principle of i this invention'may be employed-instead of the 

